The Perks of Being a Wallflower

buddies got three days each for ganging up on Patrick after they broke up the original fight. Brad wasn’t suspended at all because it was self-defense. I didn’t get suspended either because I was just helping to defend a friend when it was five on one.
    Brad and I got a month’s detention, starting that day.
    In detention, Mr. Harris didn’t set up any rules. He just let us read or do homework or talk. It really isn’t much of a punishment unless you like the television programs right after school or are very concerned with your permanent record. I wonder if it’s all a lie. A permanent record, I mean.
    On that first day of detention, Brad came to sit next to me. He looked very sad. I think it all kind of hit him after he stopped feeling numb from the fight.
    “Charlie?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Thanks. Thanks for stopping them.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    And that was it. I haven’t said anything to him since. And he didn’t sit next to me today. At first when he said it, I was kind of confused. But then I think I got it. Because I wouldn’t want a bunch of my friends beating up Sam even if I wasn’t allowed to like her anymore either.
    When I got out of detention that day, Sam was waiting for me. The minute I saw her, she smiled. I was numb. I just couldn’t believe she was really there. Then, I saw her turn and give Brad a real cold look.
    Brad said, “Tell him I’m sorry.”
    Sam replied, “Tell him yourself.”
    Brad looked away and walked to his car. Then, Sam walked up to me and messed up my hair.
    “So, I heard you’re this ninja or something.”
    I think I nodded.
    Sam drove me home in her pickup truck. On the way, she told me that she was really angry at me for doing what I did to Mary Elizabeth. She told me that Mary Elizabeth is a really old friend of hers. She even reminded me that Mary Elizabeth was there for her when she went through that tough time she told me about when she gave me the typewriter. I don’t really want to repeat what that was.
    So, she said that when I kissed her instead of Mary Elizabeth, I really hurt their friendship for a while. Because I guess Mary Elizabeth really liked me a lot. That made me feel sad because I didn’t know that she liked me that much. I just thought she wanted to expose me to all those great things. That’s when Sam said,
    “Charlie, you’re so stupid sometimes. Do you know that?”
    “Yeah. I really do. Know that. Honest.”
    Then, she said that Mary Elizabeth and she got over it, and she thanked me for taking Patrick’s advice and staying away for as long as I did because it made things easier. So, then I said,
    “So, we can be friends now?”
    “Of course,” was all she said.
    “And Patrick?”
    “And Patrick.”
    “And everyone else?”
    “And everyone else.”
    That’s when I started crying. But Sam told me to shush.
    “You remember what I said to Brad?”
    “Yeah. You told him that he should tell Patrick that he was sorry himself.”
    “That goes for Mary Elizabeth, too.”
    “I tried, but she told me …”
    “I know you tried. I’m telling you to try again.”
    “Okay.”
    Sam dropped me off. When she was too far away to see me, I started to cry again. Because she was my friend again. And that was enough for me. So, I made myself promise to never mess up like I did before. And I’m never going to. I can tell you that.
    When I went to The Rocky Horror Picture Show tonight, it was very tense. Not because of Mary Elizabeth. That was actually okay. I said I was sorry, and then I asked her if there was anything she wanted to say to me. And like before, I asked a question and got a very long answer. When I was done listening (I really did listen), I said I was sorry again. Then, she thanked me for not trying to make what I did seem less by offering a lot of excuses. And things were back to normal except we were just friends.
    To tell you the truth, I think the biggest reason for everything being okay is that Mary Elizabeth started dating one of Craig’s friends. His name is Peter, and he’s in college, which makes Mary Elizabeth happy. At the party at Craig’s apartment, I overheard Mary Elizabeth say to Alice that she was much happier with Peter because he was “opinionated,” and they had debates. She said that I was really sweet and understanding, but that our relationship was too one-sided. She wanted a person who was more open to discussion and didn’t need someone’s permission to talk.
    I wanted to laugh. Or